Reflections on Authenticity: A Star is Born
Remaking a film that has been done three times before sets up a baseline challenge for a film’s success. Throw in a major actor’s directorial debut, casting a novice actor to portray the star, and you’ve got a film that is destined to either exceed its potential or completely fall apart. Thankfully, A Star is Born (2018), directed, co-written, and starring Bradley Cooper, alongside a headlining debut of Lady Gaga, delivers on many fronts - artistically, musically, and perhaps more importantly - authentically.
Singer-songwriter Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) is a world famous, hard drinkin’ country artist who is just past his prime. After a concert, he meets Ally (Lady Gaga), who is performing at a drag bar; he is instantly smitten and convinces her to spend the night talking, where he discovers that she is a talented singer-songwriter herself. The next day, he flies her out to his show, where they perform the song she shared with him the night before. This performance kicks off her singing career, as well as their fiery relationship. As Ally’s star begins to rise, Jack’s descent into alcoholism becomes more apparent; despite their shifting paths, they decide to get married. However, their troubles only intensify, culminating in a drunken and embarrassing event at an awards show that lands Jackson in rehab. He successfully goes through the program and is welcomed back by Ally, but he ultimately recognizes that his addiction will only hold her career back, so he makes a choice to end his life. Ally, devastated, performs a tribute song to her man; his star has fizzled out as hers continues to shine brightly, although a bit diminished from heartbreak.
Bradley Cooper set himself up for a double challenge in this film - directing himself in a lead role in his first directorial debut - and he rises to the occasion. His character spends the majority of the film on a spectrum of haze from being drunk or high and Cooper is able to capture this altered state, even showing the difference in his eyes; however, the heartbreak of the film wouldn’t work without his winning over the audience with his genuine heart. The performance is truly amazing, not only considering his significant amount of screen time, but also the majority of those in difficult and vulnerable scenes; he has set the stage for his future directorial career, even more notable if he can pull off this duo role additional times.
There are also stellar turns from other players, from Dave Chapelle to Sam Elliot, both who contribute to the film’s tone of being grounded in reality. More credit must be given to Cooper, who co-wrote the script and knew the story inside and out, but also has emerged as an actor’s director, understanding the language necessary to speak directly to his fellows. A highlight is the authentic interplay between Elliot and Cooper, who felt like true brothers with weighted history. Even after their falling out, when they see each other again at a loud venue, the way that Elliot’s character is conscious of Jackson’s hearing difficulties is such a small detail, but one that demonstrates the residual care and deep understanding of these siblings. Also, their final scene, where Elliot drives away after an emotional Jackson tells him a truth that was hard to say and yet means everything, the look on his face as he drives back in reverse...well, that is some good acting while operating heavy machinery.
And finally, the star of the show, Lady Gaga, a worldwide mega-star herself who must capture the journey of a nobody, rising star, and transformed diva, all in her first starring acting role. A herculean effort, but one that she pulls off with humor, strength, and vulnerability. The audience will surely be aware of her queen of pop status when entering into the theater - talented singer-songwriter with outlandish costumes (that include a meat dress), and songs with hooks that get stuck in your head for days. Lady Gaga herself has crafted her career on constructing her image and brand, clothing and making up her body with extravagant concepts and creating pop hits with a clearly studio produced sound; at the same time, she is an accomplished piano player, sings with skillful technique, and has collaborated on jazz albums with Tony Bennett - so her musical bonafides are also legit. This interplay between constructed image and underlying authenticity is at the heart of this iteration of A Star is Born, and Lady Gaga was perfectly cast, as her star persona and career is already a mixture of these two concepts.
The first time we glimpse Lady Gaga as Ally, she is performing at a drag bar, where she is dolled up on stage, performing La Vi En Rose. She catches Jackson’s attention, who is intrigued enough to visit backstage and, in an intimate moment, assists in taking off her fake eyebrows. She emerges from the dressing room as a subversion of her current star persona - she appears with no makeup, regular hair, and street clothing. Once Jackson pulls her onstage and ignites her career, Ally has transformed into the Gaga we know, with outlandish clothing and dyed hair, pop beats that overwhelm perceived musicality, and appearances on popular talk shows. Once tragedy has unfolded, we are presented with a new sophisticated Ally, singing a torch song in an elegant dress and with an orchestra, the focus of the music on her powerful voice.
These various iterations of Ally set the stage for the exploration of the theme of authenticity - what defines it, who controls it, and what is allowed within image, music, career, and love. What can be considered real? The film’s narrative posits the belief that acoustic rock is natural and that the world of pop, with its outrageous outfits, designed makeup, and vapid lyrics, are a construct and therefore not as real. Jackson clearly resents that Ally chooses that path in her career - they have the same conversation three times in the film - on the rooftop in full view of her billboard, an epic fight in the bathroom, and finally her visit to him in rehab - and each time he asserts his disappointment in her choices; only in the final conversation does she see that he won’t back down from this belief. While she defends her career and brand, she does show some early reticence about adding dancers to her act, stating “I don’t want to lose the part of myself that is talented,” implying that adding elements that contribute to spectacle takes her further from the authentic music.
And so, the question is posed - is she asserting her own personality in the pop star version of Ally? Is it an act that she is even conscious of making? When Ally is first presented on-screen, she is completely made up at the drag queen bar and Jackson’s first act is to remove her stage makeup - and they never really break out of this pattern until the end of the film. Does his death shock her out of a constructed inauthentic state - so much that in tribute to their love, she asserts a new star persona - abandoning the roles of the rock sidekick or designed pop star - and evolving into a refined singer in a beautiful dress, backed by an orchestra, and singing a torch song to the man she loved. The film seems to pass judgement on the type of career that Lady Gaga herself personifies and yet, must acknowledge that any presentation on stage is a constructed image, just as the composition of the film itself is a construction as well. Striving for authenticity is a noble task in all works of art, but what defines something as authentic? When asked in an interview for the film about whether it was scary to show her face on-screen with no makeup, Lady Gaga responded that was a representation of Ally and that she herself, as Lady Gaga, felt more authentically herself when dressed up in makeup and hair done. In the end, authenticity is a representation of one’s true nature or belief - who am I (or Jackson Maine) to question someone’s true definition of themselves - whether sans makeup or outrageously painted, expressing studio produced pop music or live acoustic ballads.
Speaking of music, the soundtrack for this film is delightful, not surprising given the talent of Lady Gaga writing the songs, but Cooper contributes to his long list of accomplishments for this film by adding his guitar, voice, and musicality to the songs. Music is integral to the dna of this film, which takes time to feature the multitude of songs, not just in clips or sequences, but sometimes highlighting an entire set piece. To justify spending that much film time, the songs must carry weight in the storytelling. For example, a song lyric that Jackson croons - “maybe it’s time to let the old ways die” - captures the story arc of Cooper’s character in a single melodic expression; he is the old, Ally is the new, and the song is almost a predictive, mournful lament to his future. The variety of the soundtrack is also notable, tracking the various stages of Ally’s persona and career - demonstrating the talent of Gaga’s ability to craft songs that serve story and character, but also that can be listened to and enjoyed on their own merits.
Another aspect of the film that shows a thoughtfulness of direction was the use of light, adding a layer of commentary on character to the scenes. For example, the beginning of the film shows Jackson performing a concert while high and the bright, blurry lights and constant camera movement captures that feeling and invites the audience to (almost) share that experience. After he returns from rehab and enters his dark house, a sign that reads La Vi En Rose turns on and floods his empty house with red light and a burst of Ally’s energy and spirit, a touch that reminds the character and the viewer of the beginning of this couple’s journey. Additionally, when he is settling into the house, sober and playing with the dog as Ally watches from afar - this is literally the most pure that he’s been and the light shows that quality; it is warm and golden and shines bright, almost taking over the entire frame with its radiance, but only for a moment, which parallels his character’s trajectory. Pure in that moment, but winking out soon, for when the camera returns to the house later, flooded with the police’s flashing red and blue lights, interplaying hauntingly with the red sign in the house, the audience knows that this light means death.
The bookends of the film show the crossing of the two people’s careers, life, and energy. At the beginning of the film, Jackson invites Ally to attend one of his concerts, and he sends her a car to pick her up; here, he has the power in the relationship, but by the end, she is the one with the concert, she offers to send a car, she has the complete power in the dynamic. The narrative is truly one of his star falling and hers rising.
The final conclusion to Jackson’s fall from stardom is a heartbreaking one, pushed by a music executive that is selfishly concerned with his pop star’s career rather than a human being’s fragility. Tragically, rock stars too often live the story that is dramatized by Jackson’s character - extremely talented, leaning into the rockstar lifestyle, only to flame out from drugs. For Jackson, addiction is a powerful disease and the chances of relapse could be high; he is vulnerable and listens to a voice that expresses all his fears out loud, internalizes that message, and then makes his decision. At the same time, it is infuriating that this person (who has dragged down multiple people he loves), who put in some work and had been making amends with those people, to be so completely in a vulnerable place and to be thrown down by a ruthless stranger was heartbreaking to watch. Because you want to root for people. But old habits die hard. And he really did love her and want the best for her and so decided to take his potential destructive behavior out of the equation so she could go on to better heights than he could ever have achieved.
This film may be the fourth remake and may be telling a familiar story about artists rising and falling, but ultimately, it is about the journey of that story, the music that is created, the moments that are captured, and the chemistry of the players. A Star is Born, 2018 edition, captures the essence of these characters, highlights the stellar music, and delivers a heartbreaking ending that leaves viewers thinking about the question of authenticity in art, love, and oneself.
